Refrigerator shelf supporting means



J. E. SCHLENKERT v REFRIGERATOR SHELF SUPPORTING MEANS Filed Nov. 26,1965 a my ' V lle .22

Aug. 22, 1967 United States Patent 3,337,283 REFRIGERATOR SHELFSUPPORTING MEANS John E. Schlenkert, Detroit, Mich., assignor toAmerican Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of MarylandFiled Nov. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 509,693 3 Claims. (Cl. 312306) ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A shelf supporting device having shelf height adjustmentsfor installation into a refrigerated compartment. The device comprisesexpansible upright standards with shelf supporting arms adjustablethereon; the arm being slideable along the standards and interlockabletherewith at selected heights by a quarter turn of the arm, or unlockedby a quarter turn.

This invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly to a newand improved type adjustable and removable shelf means for householdrefrigerators or the like wherein the shelves may be raised or loweredwithin the food compartment space.

In the past many types of shelf adjusting means have been provided inrefrigerator food compartments for shelf adjustment therein, but most ofthem have been an integral part of the refrigerator and quitecomplicated.

In the instant invention a detachable shelf raising or lowering means isprovided that can be quickly inserted within the food compartment of arefrigerator. A plurality of vertical flat bar members, with threadedcaps thereon, which can be used to locate the bars where desired withinthe food compartments and to hold them firmly, are used to holdadjustable shelf supporting means that are rotatably supported on thebars and can me positioned in turn, as desired, to support shelves atany height desired.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved detachable shelf supporting means that may be quickly insertedwithin the food compartment of a refrigerator and be rigidly heldtherein, the same being adapted to support adjustable shelf supports,which in turn support shelves at a predetermined height to hold foodthereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedvertical bar member adapted to receive adjustable shelf-supportingmembers which may be raised or lowered by partially rotating the shelfsupporting members.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedadjustable shelf support that may be moved vertically on a vertical barmember and quickly locked thereon at a desired height.

The above and other objects of the invention will appear more clearlyfrom the following more detailed description of the invention, and fromthe drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a home refrigerator with the door tothe lower unfrozen food compartment thereof partly broken away to showthe arrangement of food shelves and the adjustable shelf means.

FIGURE 2 is a section taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of a rachet bar member with theadjustable shelf support threaded into a cap member which rests on thebottom of the food compartment floor and also showing the adjustableshelf support and adjustable button member engaged thereon.

FIGURE 4 shows the narrow side of the rachet bar of FIGURE 3 with thesame supporting the adjustable shelf support and adjustable buttonmember thereon.

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FIGURE 5 is a section taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;and

FIGURE 6 is a detail of the threaded bottom cap, rachet, adjustablebutton member, adjustable shelf support member and top cap member intheir assembly sequence.

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral 10 dessignates a well knowntype of home refrigerator having a door 11, which, as here illustrated,is partly broken away to disclose the interior of the provisioncompartment. Suitably arranged therein are four rachet-type bars 12, thesame being formed of steel, plastic, or the like, and formed as shown inFIGURES 3 and 6 of the drawing, having a flat side 13 and a narrow side14 and having a portion of the bottom and top of said bar threaded, asat 15, to engage the threads 16 formed on the inner surface of capmembers 17, which rest upon the bottom wall 19 of the refrigerator andhold bar 12 tightly against the bottom wall and in a cap member 20,which rests against the top 39 of the food compartment as shown inFIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing to hold same in tight engagement with thetop wall 39. A plurality of slots 18 and rachet lugs 40 are formed onthe narrow side of bar 12. They are adapted to slidably receive anadjustable shelf support 22 which is formed, as shown best in FIG- GURE6 of the drawing.

The shelf support has an end flange portion 23 and a sleeve portion 24built integrally thereon. The sleeve portion is apertured as at 25, andhas formed in the aperture a plurality of split ring members 26 whichare in vertical alignment, for a purpose later to be described.

The arm portion of the adjustable shelf support 22 is formed so that itcan support wire shelves 30 which in turn will support food, or the likeas in the manner shown best in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing. There isalso provided an adjustable button member or sleeve part 32 having anopening 37 therethrough and in which are formed a plurality of the splitring members 35, in vertical alignment as in the sleeve portion 24 ofthe shelf support.

The manner in which the device operates is as follows:

The bar members 12 are formed in dilferent lengths to fit the interiorheight of different styles of refrigerators so that four of the bars maybe inserted into a refrigerator food compartment. The narrow side of thefront and rear bars are to be in alignment with each other and theadjustable self supports 22 in free engagement on said bars 12, i.e.,threaded thereon and moved down through openings 25 between the splitrings 26. The number of adjustable shelf supports inserted onto said bar12 depending upon the number of shelves to be used in the foodcompartment of the refrigerator. The same number of supports areprovided on the four bars 12 used. The lower threaded end 15 of bar 12is then threaded into lower threaded portion 16 of cap 17, so that bothare in threaded engagement. Cap 20 is then threaded onto the threadedtop portion of bar 12' in like manner and the complete assembly for eachbar 12 is located within the food compartment and positioned as shown inFIG- URES 1 and 2 of the drawing and each bar rotated until it is heldtightly in place within the food compartment, the caps 17 and 20engaging the top and bottom of the box in tight vertical relationship,but being free to turn. The shelf supports 22 are then moved upwardly onbar 12 by turning same until the opening between the split rings 25 arein vertical alignment with the teeth 40 on the narrow side of bar 12which allows the shelf supports to move up or down freely on 'bar 12.When the desired height for support 22 is reached on bar 12, the shelfsupport is turned a quarter turn which enables split rings 26 to engageteeth 40 on bar 12 and hold the same in locked relationship. Once lockedin position the lateral- 1y extending portion of support 22, with flange23 thereon, is ready to engage the edge of shelf 30, and hold same atthe desired height within the refrigerator. The same operation iscarried out with all four vertical bar members until each shelf islevel.

There may also be used a combination of shelf supports 22 and buttonmembers 32 held in supporting relationship with each other. If this isdesired, the button 32 is threaded onto bar 12, when shelf support 22 isinserted onto bar 12the button member being inserted onto the bar first,followed by the shelf support, so that the button support provided addedsupport beneath the shelf support when the refrigerator shelving isfully loaded, and acts as an additional means for supporting the shelfat the desired height. When threading the button 32 onto bar 12use thesame procedure as when threading shelf support 22 thereonto. Turn thebutton so that the bar passes between space 37 of the split rings 35 inthe button, and when locking same onto the bar, give the same a quarterturn, which will lock the button onto the bar in the same manner as whenlocking the shelf support 22 thereon.

If it is desired from time to time to change the height of the shelvingwithin the food compartment of the refrigerator, the food is removedfrom the shelving and the shelf supporting members 22 are turned aquarter turn so that the teeth 4% are disengaged from split rings 26-and if the button member 26 is being used, it is also turned a quarterturn, so that the rings of the shelf support and button are free fromthe teeth on bar 12, and the supports may be moved up or down and againturned to locked position on bar 12 at the new desired height.

There has been described herein a new and improved, yet simple means forsupporting food shelving within the provision compartment of arefrigerator. Nothing has to be built integrally within thecompartmentthe entire device being detachable therefrom and quicklyinstalled when assembling the unit for use. When it becomes necessary tochange the height of the shelving from that of initial installation, thequick turn of a shelf support allows the same to be moved vertically ona shaft for free movement either up or down thereon, and when the newshelf height is determined, said support may be quickly locked in placeon the shaft by a simple quarter turn of the shelf support. Also, theentire unit may be quickly disengaged from the refrigerator for cleaningthe compartment or to remove frost therefrom in the case of a freezercompartment.

While I have indicated the preferred embodiment of my invention, it willbe apparent that my invention is by no means limited to the exact deviceillustrated, but that many variations may be made in the particularstructure used without departing from the scope of my invention as setforth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For use in a refrigerator having a food compartment with top andbottom walls, adjustable height shelf means comprising a bar, means foradjusting the effective length of said bar to rigidly secure said bar ina vertical position in compression between said top and bottom walls,engaging means arranged substantially along the major length of said bardiametrically disposed in respect to the bar cross section, and a shelfsupporting member slidable along the length of said bar and fixedlyengageable therewith at a position selected therealong with saidengaging means, engaging means on the supporting member diametricallydisposed in respect to the supporting member cross section, thesupporting member being slidable along the length of said bar when therespective engaging means are disposed in non-engaging position onopposite diameters and fixedly engageable with the bar when the shelfsupporting member is rotated a quarter turn from said non-engagingposition interlocking the engaging means of said bar and support- 1ngmeans.

2. For use in a refrigerator having a food compartment with top andbottom walls, adjustable shelf means comprising a bar, means foradjusting the effective length of said bar to rigidly secure said bar ina vertical position in compression between said top and bottom walls andengaging means intermediate the ends of said bar diametrically disposedin respect to the bar cross section, the opposite diameter in respect tosaid bar cross section being free of said engaging means, the body ofthe bar having material cut therefrom to form open end slots on thediameter coinciding with said engaging means, and a shelf supportingmember having engaging means and an adjacent section free of engagingmeans, said shelf supporting member being slideable along said bar whenthe respective engagement means of bar and supporting member are innon-engaging position and being rotatable on said bar to position saidrespective engagement means in and out of engaging position, saidengaging means of said supporting member being selectably received insaid slots.

3. Adjustable height shelf means as provided by claim 2 in which thesupporting member has an arm and a body portion from which the armprojects, the body portion being cylindrical and having material cuttherefrom to form slots on the diameter coinciding with the supportingmember engaging means, and said arm being disposed on the diametercoinciding with said supporting member engaging means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,996,751 4/1935 Dillhoefer285-391 X 2,178,815 11/1939 Shuart 312306 2,841,459 7/1958 Sharpe312-306 3,167,186 1/1965 Squire 312326 X 3,186,364 6/1965 Costantini eta1. 108-146 3,275,354 9/1966 Sutlilf et al 285-391 X DAVID J.WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

JAMES T. MCCALL, Examiner.

1. FOR USE IN A REFRIGERATOR HAVING A FOOD COMPARTMENT WITH TOP ANDBOTTOM WALLS, ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT SHELF MEANS COMPRISING A BAR, MEANS FORADJUSTING THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH OF SAID BAR TO RIGIDLY SECURE SAID BAR INA VERTICAL POSITION IN COMPRESSION BETWEEN SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS,ENGAGING MEANS ARRANGED SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE MAJOR LENGTH OF SAID BARDIAMETRICALLY DISPOSED IN RESPECT TO THE BAR CROSS SECTION, AND A SHELFSUPPORTING MEMBER SLIABLE ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID BAR AND FIXEDLYENGAGEABLE THEREWITH AT A POSITION SELECTED THEREALONG WITH SAIDENGAGING MEANS, ENGAGING MEANS ON THE SUPPORTING MEMBER DIAMETRICALLYDISOSED IN RESPECT TO THE SUPPORTING MEMBER CROSS SECTION, THESUPPORTING MEMBER BEING SLIDABLE ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID BAR WHEN THERESPECTIVE ENGAGING MEANS ARE DISPOSED IN NON-ENGAGING POSITION ONOPPOSITE DIAMETERS AND FIXEDLY ENGAGEABLE WITH THE BAR WHEN THE SHELFSUPPORTING MEMBER IS ROTATED A QUARTER TURN FROM SAID NON-ENGAGINGPOSITION INTERLOCKING THE ENGAGING MEANS OF SAID BAR AND SUPPORTINGMEANS.